A full-time staff of five people manages the

Regatta year round , but the heart and soul of

the Regatta weekend ’ s success is a dedicated

corps of more than

committees provide everything from

1,500 volunteers , who

collectively contribute

more than 40,000 hours

of volunteer service to

the Regatta each year .

of the race course . “ The talent we have in the

A 10-12 person Race Committee works year round with the office staff and the Board of Directors to plan the Regatta . A 75-person Race Operations committee meets weekly though the fall to

volunteer pool is really unique and amazing ,” said Head Of The Charles executive director Fred Schoch . “ Because we ’ re in Boston- Cambridge , we have a creativity and knowhow available to us that ’ s probably unequalled anyplace else in the world . The volunteers really are the backbone of this Regatta .”

“ Regattas were notorious for starting late in those days . We said we were going to start on time and we did .”

BEFORE AND NOW

Some aspects of Regatta operations , such as computer timing , have evolved as newer technology was updated over the decades while others have had little change .

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Network Operations Center ( NOC ) at Cambridge BC ( 2010 ) is the nerve center for the timing system ; telephones were heavily relied upon in the 1970-90s at the start line operations , manual timing has followed the same principles in the 1960s , through the 1990s until today ; but computer timing has been modernized to a Lynx system camera and wireless network in recent times from the original film cameras and shortwave radios of 1967 .

BELOW In 1965 , the course was set using painted Clorox bottles and concrete blocks .

RIGHT TOP , BOTTOM In 1979 , the Course committee introduced a proprietary buoy and anchor system which highly expedited setting the course today .

GROUP AT RIGHT The Regatta relies today on nearly 1,500 volunteers to prepare for the race weekend . Over the past decades , some of the duties have changed as the Regatta grew in size . Back in the 1970s and 1980s , volunteers helped with signage and setting up tents and sound systems . Now many of the responsibilities include preparing for the athlete registration process and managing the launching traffic .

“ Back in the 1980s , when it was a ‘ 100 percent-volunteer-everything ,’ we were doing everything , from the tents to even picking up trash until midnight .”

1995

Steve Fossett lands in Leader , Saskatchewan , Canada , becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon .

For the first time in 26 years , no British soldiers patrol the streets of Belfast , Northern Ireland .

Oklahoma City bombing : 168 people , including 8 Federal Marshals and 19 children , are killed at the Alfred P . Murrah Federal Building . Timothy McVeigh and one of his accomplices , Terry Nichols , set off the bomb .

Microsoft releases Windows 95 .

The DVD , an optical disc computer storage media format , is announced .

O . J . Simpson is found not guilty of double murder for the deaths of former wife Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman .

1,062 BOATS 414 87

4,545 ATHLETES M 2,734 W 1,811

60 % 40 %

273 288

1996

CANCELLED

Event cancellation due to 100 year storm

Most major sponsors stand by their sponsorship contributions

Tag Heuer defers their sponsorship payment to the 1997 event

Yasser Arafat is re-elected president of the Palestinian Authority .

In Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Garry Kasparov beats “ Deep Blue ” in a second chess match .

The British Government announces that “ Mad Cow Diesease ” has been likely transmitted to people .

Suspected “ Unabomber ” Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin .

Major League Soccer kicks off in front of an overflow crowd of 31,683 packed in Spartan Stadium , to witness the historic first game .

The Nintendo 64 video game system is released in Japan .

Martina Hingis becomes the youngest person in history to win at Wimbledon in the Ladies ’ Doubles event .

CANCELLED

1997

5,787 ATHLETES M 3,141 W 2,646

54 % 46 %

Second day of racing added — The expansion of the Regatta into a second day was made in order to improve safety by reducing pressure on Sunday schedule , to increase the number of competitors accommodated , decrease the risk associated with a one day event , and further enhance sponsor value

HOCR is incorporated with Cambridge Boat Club as the sole member , with a five member board

Ernie Arlett , Northeastern University coach and originator of the HOCR based upon English head races , passes away at age 84 .

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time , gaining 60.81 to 7,022.44 .

U . S . President Bill Clinton is inaugurated for his second term .

IBM ’ s Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch , the first time a computer beats a chess World champion in a match .

The United Kingdom hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People ’ s Republic of China .

NASA ’ s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars .

1,262 BOATS 462 89

1998

5,963 ATHLETES M 3,339 W 2,624

56 % 44 %

Senior Veteran event created

Joe Concannon of the Boston Globe proclaimed in a follow-up article “ on a scale of 1-10 , this year ’ s event , in my opinion was an 11 ”

VIP Tent sells patron / friends tickets to sponsors to help defray the cost of the tent

Charity Program launched by Ted MacMahon

Directors approved naming Overall Points Trophy after D ’ arcy MacMahon

The 1998 Winter Olympics are held in Nagano , Japan .

The 70th Academy Awards ceremony , hosted for the 6th time by Billy Crystal , is held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles , California . Titanic wins 11 Oscars including Best Picture .

Bear Grylls , 23 , becomes the youngest British climber to scale Mount Everest .

Microsoft releases Windows 98 .

Google , Inc . is founded in Menlo Park , California , by Stanford University PhD candidates Larry Page and Sergey Brin .

Matthew Shepard is beaten and left to die in a cornfield in Laramie , Wyoming .

1,307 BOATS 497 100

1999

6,421 ATHLETES M 3,381 W 3,040

53 % 47 %

HOCR Licenses use of Trademark with Cambridge Boat Club for 10 Years for $ 50K

First non-sponsor hospitality tents added

The euro is established .

The Sopranos television series debuts on HBO cable channel .

U . S . President Bill Clinton is acquitted in impeachment proceedings in the United States Senate .

Wayne Gretzky retires as a player from the National Hockey League

Columbine High School massacre : Two Littleton , Colorado teenagers , Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold , open fire on their teachers and classmates , killing 12 students and 1 teacher , and then themselves .

Napster , a revolutionary music downloading service , debuts .

Apple releases the iBook G3

The ExxonMobil merger is completed , forming the largest corporation in the world .

Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia , leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President .

The last Checker taxi cab is retired in New York City and auctioned off for approximately $ 135,000 .

1,389 BOATS 510 120

2000

Charles Schwab signs on as presenting sponsor of the Regatta

The Boston Globe partnership started

HOCR Board expanded to 15 members

EDS invests over $ 500K in resources to build the new timing system

Real Time results available for the first time with new EDS system

Y2k bug causes no major harm .

The final original Peanuts comic strip is published , following the death of its creator , Charles M . Schulz .

The PlayStation 2 is released in Japan . Several months later , it becomes the bestselling game console of all time .

The 2000 Summer Olympics are held in Sydney , Australia .

The first resident crew enters the International Space Station .

Bush v . Gore : The U . S . Supreme Court stops the Florida presidential recount , effectively giving the state , and the Presidency , to George W . Bush .

The Millennium Dome closes its doors one year to the day of its opening .

1,270 BOATS 433 106

2001

6 , 036 ATHLETES M 3 , 296 W 2 , 740 6 , 046 ATHLETES M 3,260 W 2,786

55 % 45 % 54 % 46 %

Charles Schwab continues as presenting sponsor of the Regatta

Establishment of Command Center as a result of the 9 / 11 events

Jumbotron Big Screen set up to broadcast race video and results

Championship Singles moved to Saturday

Senior Master singles event created .

The U . S . FTC approves the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner .

George W . Bush is sworn into office as President of the United States

Apple launches the iPod .

September 11 – 2 , 997 people are killed in the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City , the Pentagon in Arlington , Virginia and in rural Shanksville , Pennsylvania after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 are hijacked and crash into the World Trade Center ’ s Twin Towers , American Airlines Flight 77 is hijacked and crashes into the Pentagon , and United Airlines Flight 93 is hijacked and crashes into grassland in Shanksville , due to the passengers fighting to regain control of the airplane .

Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection .

1,334 BOATS 462 120

356 396

2002

7,047 ATHLETES M 3,762 W 3,285

53 % 47 %

Charles Schwab last year as presenting sponsor of the Regatta

The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City , Utah .

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother dies aged 101 at Royal Lodge , Windsor .

Brazil wins their 5th FIFA World Cup by defeating Germany 2-0 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final .

The US State Department releases a report naming 7 state sponsors of terrorism : Iran , Iraq , Cuba , Libya , North Korea , Sudan , and Syria .

The trial of Slobodan Miloševic , the former President of Yugoslavia , begins at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague .

The ex-currencies of all euro-using nations cease to be legal tender in the European Union .

Space Shuttle Columbia flies the Hubble Space Telescope service mission , the penultimate flight before its ill-fated STS- 107 mission .

Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection ( the largest such filing in United States history ).

U . S . President George W . Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law , establishing the Department of Homeland Security , in the largest U . S . government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 ,

1,488 BOATS 502 123

367 496

2003

Collegiate Eight events added to provide opportunity for Division II / III schools .

Senior Master Eight event separated out from Master .

Senior Master Fours event created .

Power House Timing formed to manage the timing system created by EDS .

Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on its last flight . It disintegrates during reentry over Texas , killing all 7 astronauts on board .

The War in Darfur begins .

The Iraq War begins with the invasion of Iraq by the U . S . and allied forces .

CIA leak scandal : Washington Post columnist Robert Novak publishes the name of Valerie Plame , blowing her cover as a CIA operative .

The United Nations authorizes an international peacekeeping force for Liberia .

NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan , marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history . he Human Genome Project is completed , with 99 % of the human genome sequenced to 99.99 % accuracy .

Saddam Hussein , former President of Iraq , is captured in Tikrit by the U . S . 4th Infantry Division .

1,420 BOATS 495 122

294 509

2004

6 , 790 ATHLETES M 3 , 676 W 3 , 114

54 % 46 % 6 , 785 ATHLETES M 3,679 W 3,106 54 % 46 %

WB56 added as media partner with TV coverage and 30 minute special on 40th Head Of The Charles .

Reunion Village venue added .

Rowapalooza concert launched with stage at Weeks Footbridge , sponsored by Nautica Jeans .

National Team reunion held at the VIP Tent .

Olympic row-by held with men ’ s and women ’ s Olympic teams .

Crew launching moved to the FALS area from Magazine Beach .

Short Course utilized due to high east winds .

Facebook launches .

Terrorists execute simultaneous attacks , with bombs in 4 rush-hour trains in Madrid , killing 191 people .

The largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place , extending the Union by 10 member-states : Poland , Lithuania , Latvia , Estonia , the Czech Republic , Slovakia , Slovenia , Hungary , Malta and Cyprus .

The series finale of the television sitcom Friends is aired on NBC . The finale attracts 52.46 million viewers , making it the fourth most watched television series finale in U . S . history .

The 2004 Summer Olympics are held in Athens , Greece .

1,413 BOATS 487 124